1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a utility cart for use in connection with shopping, laundering, and home utilization. The utility cart has significant improvements to conventional shopping carts in the areas of safety, maneuverability, convenience, and ease of use.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Shopping carts are used by practically everyone who shops. These cart come in all shapes and sizes and are particularly useful when shopping for groceries, clothing, etc. However, these carts often are found to lack desirable safety, maneuverability, convenience features, and at times are difficult to use. Such carts are also very useful for laundering, yard work, and many other jobs around the home.
The use of shopping carts are known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,915,723 to Austin discloses a collapsible utility cart that folds up for storage purposes. However, the Austin ""723 patent does not have a brake mechanism for securing the cart, and has further drawbacks of not having swivel wheels for ease of maneuverability.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,294,158 to Cheng discloses a collapsible handcart that also collapses for storage purposes. However, the Cheng ""158 patent does not have a brake mechanism for securing the cart, and has a further drawback of not having swivel wheels for ease of maneuverability.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,906,383 to Cortes discloses a low profile home shopping cart with a pivotal handle, which allows the cart to be stored in the trunk of a car. However, the Cortes ""383 patent does not have a telescoping handle that can be easily adjusted to fit the user, and has only a single wheel locking brake mechanism.
Also, U.S. Pat. No. 3,774,929 to Stanley discloses a shopping cart. However, the Stanley ""929 patent does not disclose a brake mechanism or an adjustable handle.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,383,536 to Butter et al. and Design Pat. No. D286,218 to Friedman may be pertinent to the construction and design of the invention. However, the Butter ""536 discloses only a wheel brake for a shopping cart and the Friedman ""218 does not disclose the utility of the shopping cart, but only the design.
While the above-described devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a utility cart that provides desirable safety, maneuverability, and adjustable handle features.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved utility cart that can be used for shopping, laundering, and other tasks around the home. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need. In this respect, the personal utility cart according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an utility cart primarily developed to provide the safety of brakes, the maneuverability offered by swivel wheels, and the efficiency of an adjustable height handle.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of shopping carts now present in the prior art, the present invention provides an improved utility (shopping) cart, and overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages and drawbacks of the prior art. As such, the general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new and improved utility cart that has all the advantages of the prior art mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a utility cart, which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by the prior art, either alone or in any combination thereof.
To attain this, the present invention essentially comprises a utility cart similar to those found in grocery and other chain stores, but with improvements including a adjustable height handle, a foot activated brake, an adjustable cart partition, and easy turning swivel front wheels to assist in guiding the cart. The cart has larger, more stable rear wheels with rubber treads rotatively mounted on an axle that extends across the lower back edge of the cart, with the wheel extending out to the side of the cart. Smaller individual mounted front swivel wheels, also with rubber treads, are attached to the front bottom corners and used to assist in turning the cart. Tubular handle supports extend upward at the top rear corners of the cart to support an inverted U-shaped handle, which curves outwardly from the backside of the cart. The handle has a telescoping adjustment means, which can be easily and quickly locked to a comfortable height for an individual. A brake mechanism is comprised of a horizontal bar, with brake pads mounted at each end and aligned to and in close proximity to the larger rear wheels, which is rotatively mounted and spring loaded on the axle. A longitudinal foot pedal attached between the rear wheels to the horizontal brake bar is used to set the brake. Finally a foot activated lever incorporated in the brake mechanism and extending outward from one side of the axle is used for releasing the brake.
The sides and bottom of the utility cart of the present invention are made from chrome plated steel mesh or equivalent. Optionally, the sides and bottom can be fabricated from a solid material for use in hauling dirt, grass, leaves, and other granular materials. The utility cart can be made in various sizes and is generally rectangular or square in shaped. Three embodiments of the utility cart are disclosed, these being (1) a rigid cart for use at a single location, (2) a collapsible portable cart for storing, and a low profile cart for fitting into the trunk of a car.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims attached.
Numerous objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description of presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative, embodiments of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In this respect, before explaining the current embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of descriptions and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new utility cart that provides in the apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while simultaneously overcoming many of the disadvantages normally associated therewith.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved utility cart that may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved utility cart that has a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such utility carts economically available to the buying public.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a personal utility cart that is safer due to the added brakes, which prevent the cart from rolling into someone or some other object when stopped on an inclined surface.
Even still another object of the present invention is to provide a personal utility cart with greater control and ease of maneuverability.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a personal utility cart, which makes it easier to transport groceries, laundry, lawn supplies, etc. and is convenient, adjustable, lightweight, and durable for years of effective use.
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty that characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.